Bush’s Wish for Women to Lose Aimed at Democrats, Aide Says
The White House confirmed Friday that President Bush said during Thursday’s presidential debate that he hoped many women Senate candidates would “lose,” but a spokeswoman insisted that the President’s comments were directed only at Democrats.
“It’s not that he doesn’t want women to advance in politics,” said Judy Smith, White House spokeswoman. “He was referring to the Democratic women, and not to women in general.”
A record number of women are running for the U.S. Senate this year, but only one of the 11, Charlene Haar of South Dakota, is a Republican.
Responding to a question about when the Republican Party would select a woman as its presidential candidate, Bush said: “This is supposed to be the ‘Year of the Women’ in the Senate. Let’s see how they do.” ABC reporter Carole Simpson interrupted as Bush added: “I hope a lot of them lose,” causing many in the studio and television audience to miss the final word.
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